OUR VIEW: Birmingham City Council doesn't need position on Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex board

Birmingham City Councilors Jay Roberson, right, and Johnathan Austin are angling for another political position. (The Birmingham News/Michelle Williams)

No, no, no, no.

Stop it.

Birmingham City Council members Jay Roberson and Johnathan Austin have brought their baby before the king. And now the feuding friends want to have it blessed, anointed and appointed.

Both now are angling to be appointed as members of the power-and-perk-filled Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex board.

No, no, no, no.

Stop it.

If the Alabama Legislature -- which has the appointing power for the board -- has even a modicum of Solomon's wisdom, it will nip that effort in the bud.

It will cut that baby in half. And give the pieces to neither of those men.

Solomon's wisdom is a lot to ask, we know.

But the BJCC board is political enough. It does not need to be used to divide, or to reward the City Council.

In fact, the county's legislative delegation should ignore a recent resolution passed by the Birmingham City Council that asks for a BJCC appointment to be designated for a member of the City Council, whether that be Austin or the chair of the Economic Development Board, Lashunda Scales.

The BJCC board needs more politics like the Coliseum needs a hole in its roof.

The mayor of Birmingham and the president of the Jefferson County Commission already hold seats on the board. And the Legislature has almost always loaded the board with political animals. Historically, it has been infested with lobbyists.

Board members are unpaid, but the position is considered a plum.

It oversees construction of the new hotel and entertainment district, and helps determine who receives contracts.

Board members also frequently receive tickets to convention complex events.

Council members do not need to sit on this board. They already have a job.

They need to do it. And not spend their time angling for other posts, other perks, other positions.

Both Roberson and Austin are considered contenders for future mayoral runs. Both are politically ambitious and have, for the most part, held to the same views and goals.

Seeing the two break ranks over a personal appointment is disturbing.

Particularly the way Austin phrased it to News reporter Joseph Bryant.

If the council's wishes are ignored, he said, then "I'm going to have to seriously reconsider my support of the civic center and its activities."

I support you, if you support me? It is just the kind of politics that cannot be used to run our biggest community assets.

It is a kind of politics that is repugnant on its face.

At least Council President Roderick Royal, who has lobbied for a council representative on the board, speaks with more diplomacy.

"The decision, of course, is the Legislature's," Royal said. "Hopefully the Legislature would honor the council's position on the matter."